Buddy's Place
Make America Gray Again
RECEIVED Mon., Feb. 17, 2025
Dear Editor,
In four short weeks, an unelected private citizen with no government experience and no vetting, with the president’s blessing and Congress’ acquiescence, has fired tens of thousands of federal employees, many with irreplaceable expertise, who accepted their positions with an assurance that their employment would be based on performance, not a whim. Musk and Trump have eliminated research programs, removed formerly publicly available information about disease, slashed education funding to states, and denied federal relief to victims of natural disasters. The new roads and bridges we thought Congress had funded? Canceled. Programs to revitalize rural communities most impacted by a changed economy? Eliminated. Laws passed to prevent corruption and protect consumers? Ignored.
And on the international front, a blistering attack on our multi-decades allies, on the soil where half a million of our finest gave the ultimate in opposition to tyranny, while turning our backs on the brave citizens of Ukraine, who gave up their rights to nuclear weapons after we assured them their sovereignty would be respected.
Not my definition of “greatness.”
In four short weeks, an unelected private citizen with no government experience and no vetting, with the president’s blessing and Congress’ acquiescence, has fired tens of thousands of federal employees, many with irreplaceable expertise, who accepted their positions with an assurance that their employment would be based on performance, not a whim. Musk and Trump have eliminated research programs, removed formerly publicly available information about disease, slashed education funding to states, and denied federal relief to victims of natural disasters. The new roads and bridges we thought Congress had funded? Canceled. Programs to revitalize rural communities most impacted by a changed economy? Eliminated. Laws passed to prevent corruption and protect consumers? Ignored.
And on the international front, a blistering attack on our multi-decades allies, on the soil where half a million of our finest gave the ultimate in opposition to tyranny, while turning our backs on the brave citizens of Ukraine, who gave up their rights to nuclear weapons after we assured them their sovereignty would be respected.
Not my definition of “greatness.”
Cathy Murphree